Australian Open: Novak Djokovic says he is injured, but some are sceptical

Novak Djokovic looked in trouble — until “injury” struck. Here’s why some are doubting the validity of his ailment.

Novak Djokovic received treatment for a side strain. Picture: Getty Images

By the time Taylor Fritz turned pro, Novak Djokovic had already undergone his transformation and was a 10-time grand slam winner.

The Serbian had gone from a potential one-slam wonder to on the path to becoming one of the greatest players in history.

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Before his turnaround in 2011 – Djokovic won three of the four majors – there were many question marks about his mental strength and a worrying trend of retiring or taking suspicious injury time-outs during matches.

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Novak Djokovic treats his side strain during the match. Picture: Getty Images

It seemed that whenever it got too hot in the kitchen for Djokovic a mystery ailment flared and he was suddenly unable to continue.

Winning masks everything but this reputation has never fully disappeared and on Friday night it raised its ugly head again.

The No.1 seed was in control in the first two sets against Fritz before a freak slip on the court in the third set changed everything.

It coincided with his American opponent finding a new level and for the next two sets Djokovic looked cooked because of a side strain.

And that’s certainly what Fritz thought before an injury time-out courtesy of the unusual stop in play to clear Rod Laver Arena for COVID-19 lockdown purposes at 11.30pm.

Spectators were angered when they were forced out of Melbourne Park before the end of the match, but it gave Djokovic valuable rest time. Picture: AFP

After that Djokovic was a different beast, racing through the fifth set to claim victory 7-6 (1) 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-2 after three hours and 25 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

“I mean, look, I think if you guys all watched the match, looked like he was struggling in the third and the fourth, and he didn’t really look like he was struggling in the fifth,” the American said with a wry smile afterwards.

“You know, when I hit a winner, he’d kind of, like, pull at it. He looked fine in the fifth.

“Let’s be honest. Maybe he fought through it, but I’m happy for him that he had such a good recovery and he’s feeling a lot better.

“We’ll see what happens. We’ll see if he plays. Like I said, anyone can watch the match and see he was moving well and playing well in the fifth.

“I don’t know what to say. We’ll see if he plays, like, if he can play like he played in the fifth, I don’t see why he wouldn’t play. He’ll beat pretty much anyone.”

Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis was a little more blunt with his doubts in a since-deleted Tweet.

“Recover from a torn muscle in 2 days?! Teach me” Kokkinakis wrote.

The since-deleted Tweet from Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Djokovic painted a far bleaker picture afterwards casting doubt on whether he would be able to defend his Australian Open crown.

He said a high dose of anti-inflammatories was the reason for his fifth-set resurrection.

“It did kick in at the end of the fourth, beginning of the fifth when I actually started to move and I could actually start to rally with him from the back of the court,” Djokovic said.

“Until that moment, it was only serving for me and kind of hoping and praying that I’m gonna get an easy ball after my serve so I could just go for it.

“I honestly don’t know how I won this match. I’m very proud, at the same time sad and worried, because it’s definitely something serious happening with my injury.”

The anti-inflammatories kicked in. Picture: Getty Images

The eight-time Australian Open champion said he would have scans on the injury which would determine whether he is able to play No.14 seed Milos Raonic in the fourth round on Monday.

“I don’t know if I’ll manage to recover from that in less than two days,” he said.

“I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m gonna step out onto the court or not.”

The bookmakers have already reacted with the undisputed king of Melbourne Park dethroned as favourite, drifting out to $5 behind Danill Medvedev ($3) and Dominic Thiem ($4).

HOW DID DJOKOVIC HURT HIMSELF?

The defending champion slipped badly on the ‘Melbourne’ logo at the back of the court on Rod Laver Arena and hurt his hip in a third set slip.

Novak Djokovic was clearly inconvenienced by an injury during his third round match against Taylor Fritz. Picture: Getty Images

Down 1-2, Djokovic called a medical time-out before returning to the court to soldier on.

The defending champion and eight-time Australian Open winner received further medical treatment during breaks but was unable to move around the court with any freedom and struggled to nail his serves.

That was before a timely extended break in play during the fourth set when the match was suspended to eject the crowd at 11.30pm, in compliance with Victoria’s strict midnight lockdown rules.

Fritz won that fourth set after also taking the third, but Djokovic looked a new man during a nailbiting fifth set which he won to move through to the fourth round at Melbourne Park.

Djokovic said afterwards the 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-2 victory would be a memorable one for him.

Novak Djokovic falls on the court in an attempt to hit a return against Taylor Fritz. Picture: AFP

“In the third and fourth set I just – I don’t know, I just served and couldn’t do much on the return,” Djokovic said.

“I was just going for my shots. It was hitting two first serves and it worked. It worked well.

“This is definitely one of the most special wins in my life. Doesn’t matter what round it is and against who it is under these kinds of circumstances, to pull this through is definitely something I’ll remember forever.”

The injury had come after a dirty start to the night for Djokovic, who was earlier frustrated with a crowd that constantly booed and heckled him.

He took out anger at his own player’s box and even became annoyed at the ball kids.

The Serbian made some uncharacteristic mistakes and left balls he would normally get to and return in the first set, but turned it on when it counted in a tie-breaker which he took out 7-1.

Angry fans are forced to leave at 11.30 PM due to Victorian Covid restriction during the match between Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz. Picture: Getty Images

Despite the win, Djokovic said he was unsure whether he could play on in the tournament, fearing he had torn a muscle.

“Right now I know it’s a tear, definitely, the muscle. I don’t know if I’ll manage to recover from that in less than two days,” he said.

“I don’t know if I’m going to step out on the court or not. I just am very proud of this achievement tonight. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.”

Fixtures in the third round of the Australian Open have not been particularly kind to 27th seed Fritz.

In 2019, he was bundled out by third-seed Roger Federer and last year he lost to fifth-seed Dominic Thiem.

The 23-year-old is yet to make the fourth round of a Grand Slam.